This early test screenshot is of an old project of mine revamped with a new engine (it's now using the Hero - CF engine modified as through that I've learnt a lot about glitch-free smooth platforming code in GM). Felt like bringing this back with some improvements and actually get it done as it's a relatively simple quick project. For those who don't know, this is a game in the style of the Amstrad CPC's Mode 1 resolution which was regular size pixels (as opposed to the Mode 0 wide pixel) and used 4 colors per screen. It used a lil trick to have seperate vertical 'screens' with their own palette and even resolution so you often saw Mode 0 widepixel 16 color gameplay areas, with a Mode 1 4 color status panel. This game uses four colors for the status panel and four colors for the gameplay area. The gameplay colors change throughout the game and get some neat atmosphere going on. The status panel has a selection of color schemes to suit the players preference.

I've redone the status panel here considerably since the old version. The old one was too clean, too ill-fitting a 'horror' game and I had changed a lot of the status stuff such as using collectable heart containers instead of the levelling up hitpoints thing.

The skull halves which bookend the status bar is actually the game's 'narrator'. When it's time for him to talk the large middle section of the panel slides up and the skull halves slide in to join together. When trying to come up with his character and role I think I had in mind the criminologist from the Rocky Horror Picture Show in the way he narrates the story and gets involved indirectly with certain scenes.

Oh yeah I know the item boxes are empty yet state values of how much of that item is present. Ignore that.

To see how it looks with the scaled up with scanlines option go to [link]


Everything in the pic is pixelled by me except the font which is taken from the old 8 bit game Feud.